Sowing is an art of placing seeds in the soil to

have good germination in the field.

A perfect sowing gives:
ØCorrect amount of seed per unit area
Øcorrect depth at which seed is placed in the soil
ØCorrect spacing between row to row and plant
to plant.
The basic objective of sowing and planting machinery is
the following:

Ø Timeliness in operations.
Ø Efficient application of inputs.
Ø Conserving soil and water resources.
Ø Increasing irrigation potential and efficiencies.
Ø Reducing losses drudgery .
 ?

• Level the planter

• Check bushing
• Replace knined and rusted chain
• Change worn tube
• Equip with walking gauge wheel
• Swap spoked closing wheels for smooth
• Ensure planter monitor of fully functional
• Calibrate
• Watch your speed
There are various crop which having different
methods of sowing or planting depending upon
the size of their seeds. Some are sown on the
leveled field were as other on ridges.
• Broadcasting
• Dibbling
• Drilling
• Transplanting
• Hill dropping
• check row planting
• Broadcasting is the
process of random
scattering of seed on
seedbed.
Broadcasting can be done
by:
Ø By manually
Ø By mechanically
Uses :paddy, sesame,
fenugreek , coriander etc.
Dibbling is the method of placing the seed in hole in
seed bed and covering them.
Dibbling can be done by:

dibbling

By mechanically By manually

Naveen Rotary
dibbler dibbler
• The multiple placing the group of seeds at about equal
interval in a rows. In this method seed are dropped at
fixed spaced and not in a continuous row.
• Check-rowing was a
method of planting
where each hill of two,
three or four seeds was
exactly the same
distance from adjoining
hills.
• It is the method of
planting in which row to
row and the plant to
plant distance is
uniform”.
Drilling consist of dropping the seed in furrow
lines in a continuous flow and covering them
with soil.
Advantages of drilling method:
• Achieving proper depth
• Proper spacing
• Proper amount of seed
 DRILLING

By seed
drill

Sowing behind the

plough

Bullock drawn
Tractor drawn
In agriculture and gardening, transplanting or replanting is the
technique of moving a plant from one location to another. Most
often this takes the form of starting a plant from seed in optimal
conditions, such as in a greenhouse or protected nursery bed,
then replanting it in another, usually outdoor, growing location.
Transplanting has a variety of applications, including:
• Extending the growing season by starting plants indoors, before
outdoor conditions are favorable;
• Protecting young plants from diseases and pests until they are
sufficiently established;
• Avoiding germination problems by setting out seedlings instead
of direct seeding.
SEED DRILL
§ Seed drill
§ Seed cum fertilizer drill
PLANTER
§ Small seed planter
§ Tuber planter
§ Corn planter
§ Precision seeder
TRANSPLANTER
§ Paddy transplanter
§ Vegetable transplanter
 Planters are devices that deposit seed(or place
plants) at equal distance in rows at specified rates
and cover them with soil.
Basic function of planter:
• Meter seeds of different size and shapes.
• Place the seed in the acceptable pattern of
distribution in the field.
• Place the seed accurately and uniformly at the
desired depth in the soil.
• Cover the seed optionally and compact the soil
around it to enhance germination.
 TYPES OF PLANTING

Flat Bed Planting Furrow Planting Bed Planting

The advantages of row planting over broadcasting or
scatter planting include the following:
• Light exposure is maximized. Conversely, the excessive
shading effect of other plants is minimized thus favoring more
efficient photosynthesis and improved crop yield;
• Wind passage along the inter rows is enhanced which
increases gas exchanges and prevents excessive humidity;
• Access through the inter rows facilitates cultivation, weeding,
and other farm operations including hauling;
• Movement within the crop area is more convenient and
allows close inspection of individual plants;
• Visibility is enhanced; and It is easy to calculate or count the
plant population in a given farm area.
Seed drill is a machine for placing the
seeds in a continuous flow in furrow at
uniform rate and at controlled depth with
or without the arrangement of covering
them with soil.
Function of seed drill
• To carry the seed
• To open furrow to an uniform depth
• To meter the seed
• To placed the seed in furrow in an
uniform in an acceptable pattern
• To cover the seeds and compact the
soil around the seed
1. Seed Hopper
2. Fertilizer Hopper
3. Seed metering
mechanism
4. Fertilizer metering
mechanism
5. Seed Tube
6. Fertilizer Tube
7. Furrow Opener
8. Ground wheel
 Fertilizer box Seed box

Seed and
fertilizer
mechanism
Fertilizer
tube

Furrow
opener

Seed tube
Ground wheel
• Fluted roller type • Spur wheel type
• Internal double run • Serrated type
type • Star wheel
• Orifice type
• Cup type
 The furrow openers are provided in a seed drill for opening the
furrows before dropping the seeds. The seed tube conducts
the seed from the feed mechanism into the boot from where
they fall into the furrow.
• TYPES OF FURROW OPENERS
q Shovel type
q Shoe type
q Disc type(single disc, double disc)
Calibration of seed drill
The procedure of testing the seed drill for correct
seed rate is called calibration of seed drill. It is
necessary to calibrate the seed drill before putting it
on the field for actual run to find the desire seed rate.

Material required
1. Seed
2. Weight and balance
3. Tape
4. A cloth piece to tie at one place on drive wheel
5. Plastic bags
6. 2 Jacks on wooden horse
The procedure of calibration of Seed Drill
1. To calculate the nominal width (W) of seed drill in meter.

W = N×S

N = No. of furrow opener

S = spacing b/w two furrow opener in
meter
2. To determine the diameter of ground wheel (D).
3. To calculate the circumference of ground wheel = ╥D
4. To calculate the area covered in one revolution of
ground wheel.
A = ╥D W ( A = Area )
5. To calculate no of revolution of ground wheel in one hectare.
N = 10000/ ╥D W
N = No of revolution of ground wheel
6. Seed and fertilizer hoppers are filled with the desired seed and
fertilizer and sampling bags are tied with each seed/fertilizer
tubes.

7. The machine is lifted up so that ground drive wheel is above

ground and is free to rotate and made the mark on the ground
wheel by chock for calculation of revolution of ground wheel.

8. The ground drive wheel is manually rotated for 50 revolutions

in the forward direction with a speed of approximately that of the
operating speed of the machine in the field.

9. The individual samples are weighed and calculate the seed

drop in 50 revolution and also find out seed drop in one (1) revolution
and find out the seed rate per hectare.
A transplanter is an agricultural machine used for transplanting
seedlings to the field. This is very important as it reduces the time
taken to transplant seedlings (when compared to manual
transplanting), thus allowing more time for harvesting. It also
reduces the use of manual energy.

TYPES OF TRANSPLANTER

MANUUALLY BY MACHINE

MANUALLY OPERATED POWER OPEARATED

 Paddy transplanter was
first developed in JAPAN
in the 1960s.
• A rice transplanter is a
specialized transplanter
fitted to
transplant rice seedlings
onto paddy field.
Mainly two types of rice
transplanter.
Ø Riding type
Ø Walking type
Power Operated Manually Operated
Without going in field for any ploughing direct
sowing of wheat in a field after harvesting of rice
using Zero-till drill is known as zero tillage.

Requirements zero tillage

In case sowing
of wheat is done after 25th November, the yield
decreases at a rate of 30 kg/ha/day. Zero tillage
minimizes the losses due to delayed sowing.
Moreover, the cost involved in land preparation is
also saved.
How to do Zero Tillage ?
Irrigation is given to
the standing rice crop. a few days before
harvesting. Direct sowing of wheat is done in
the rice field by using zero-till drill utilizing
residual moisture. This advances the sowing
of wheat as time required for field preparation
is saved.
Where do Zero Tillage ?
Zero tillage can be
adopted where the sowing of wheat is
delayed beyond 25th November due to late
maturity of rice. It can be used in almost all
types of soils except very heavy clayey soils
§ Economical as the costs of fuel, labour and interest are
saved. It can save around Rs. 1700/- per hectare
required for field preparation.

§ As the time required for field preparation is saved,

sowing of wheat can be advanced by 8-10 days.

§ Improved seeding equipment coupled with efficient

input management present as opportunity for higher
and more consistent yields.
§ Use of improved seeding, planting and transplanting
machinery leads to save the time, fuel, and labour.
§ Reduce cost of sowing.
§ Saving and Efficient utilization of seeds and fertilizers.
§ Increased profitability to farmers